Return of the Shadow Prince
by godgavemewings
Summary: Nothing really dies as long as its not forgotten he had said. Well Jenny hadn't forgotten him. She never would. Little did she know that another Shadow Man had always been watching them... and he hadn't forgotten about them either.
1. Chapter 1

-Jenny-

_"Nothing really dies as long as it's not forgotten," he said. And then the blue mist seemed to gather in his eyes and obscure the flame. "Go to the dream," Jenny whispered. "Go quick now." _

Jenny woke with a gasp and sat upright in her bed. She hadn't forgotten Julian. Not a day went by when she didn't think of him. Jenny laid back down with a sigh and closed her eyes. Would she always dream of him? Would she ever be able to live her life as though she had never met Julian? I doubt it, she thought. Everything had changed after playing his games. Dee and Audrey were friends. Zach and Summer became a couple. Michael was more social and confident. And Jenny and Tom were broken up. It made her sad sometimes to think about it. The games had brought them closer, but within the next few months.. the discovery of not needing each other had pulled them apart. Jenny was glad that they were still friends though. She would have been terribly sad without him. No, life could never be the same. She would just have to accept life the way it was. If only... but no. Jenny dismissed the thought. Julian couldn't come back.. could he? She missed him. Even after all he had put them through... she had come to love him, even more than she had ever loved Tommy. In those last moments, as he lay dying in her arms, she knew. She didn't say it, but she knew. She loved Julian, and she always would. With a sigh, Jenny closed her eyes and went back to sleep.

-Stephan the Shadow Man-

Although Julian didn't know it, Stephan had always been watching him as he tried to win over that mortal girl Jenny. He found it fascinating, how a shadow man- who shouldn't be able to feel anything- had fallen in love with a human girl and could display human emotions like rage and fear. He had been watching as Julian played The Game with Jenny and her companions. He had been watching as he was tricked into captivity by the girl. That was funny. He watched as he escaped and found her again. He watched as Julian overtook Jenny's friends one by one. He watched as the mortals escaped from the fire. He watched as they entered the shadow world. And he watched as Julian sacrificed himself for Jenny. What could make him do that? What could possibly be so special about a human girl? He watched now as Jenny dreamed of Julian as she had every night since he was could she possibly possess to make a shadow man so.. selfless? Stephan didn't know, but he intended to find out.

-Julian-

Another day to replay The Game. It held no meaning anymore. Inspiring terrible fear in others.. it held no more joy. Julian watched as the sun rose, marking another day of the same dream. It had been 38 days since Julian had fought the his ancestors to save Jenny. 38 days of reliving the same endless dream. Could he call it reliving? He no longer truly existed. His name had been carved off the Stave of Life, and he was nothing more than a memory now. A memory kept alive by Jenny. Oh Jenny. Julian missed her so much. Her forest green eyes and hair like liquid gold. He pretty smile and soft lips. God how he missed her. He remembered every detail about her. And he would never forget her either. How long will this dream last? Will Tommy erase me from her memory? Will I be gone forever? Julian didn't know how long he would continue to exist. He knew that she loved him, she never said it, but he knew. If only….No. That's not possible, Julian chided himself. You will never be remade. It's pointless to think of such things. Julian turned away from the sun and began to walk towards the house where he would play The Game forever. True to his word, he went into a dream like he had told Jenny he would. And here he would stay, so long as Jenny still cared about him.

-Stephan-

Hmmm. Let's play a little game, Stephan thought mischievously. As Jenny fell back asleep and Julian went to go scare his next victims, Stephan decided to work a little magic. Jenny will dream of a house, he thought. A suspiciously familiar house. She will be all alone. Julian will come to meet his next victims and see her. Oh what fun! As Jenny began to fall into a deep sleep, he placed a gnarled wrinkly hand on her forehead and whispered Uruz. For piercing the veil between worlds.


	2. Chapter 2

**Please review and tell me what you think! I am open to critiques, just please don't be rude about it! Thanks! :)**

-Jenny-

Jenny found herself in a room. An oddly familiar room… a room that looked like the paper house from so long ago. She knew she was dreaming. It wasn't real. But then.. why does it feel as though _He _was near? Jenny slowly turned to look around the room. Suddenly, in shocked, hushed tones, she heard an elemental voice like water over rock whisper, "Jenny?!" Jenny spun around.

Oh.

She thought of him every day and saw him every night, but.. nothing could have prepared her for seeing him face to face. Her eyes widened and she gasped. "..Julian?" she said tremulously. They both just stood there staring for a minute. Julians eyes were wide and seemed to say that he wanted her to be there but didn't believe it could be possible. "Jenny!" he said. They moved together as one and he touched his lips to hers. It was a slow kiss, with both Jenny and Julian trembling, as though this was the last kiss they would ever share. They pulled apart for and looked into each others eyes. "You're real…" Jenny breathed. "You didn't disappear. You always disappear." She looked into his eyes with a new hope. "Oh God Jenny.. I thought I would never see you again. I thought I would be forever alone in my dream.." Julian said touching his forehead to hers. Then Julian bent his head and kissed her with a passion that had been bottled up for too long. Jenny responded equally, the heat building up inside of her. She kissed him with all the passion she could give. When they finally broke apart, Julian looked at her and said, "You kept me alive. You didn't forget me. I'm still here because of you." "I don't think I could ever forget you.. " Jenny confessed quietly.

"Oh Jenny….. How did you find me?" Julian asked. "I- what? I thought you brought me here," Jenny said, her eyebrows furrowing. Julian took a step back. A bit of the cold look he used to have came back and he said, "I don't even exist. I couldn't. And if you didn't…. The only way you could be here is if another Shadow Man brought you here." Julian's lip curled and he took another step back. "My ancestors would never do that." Jenny looked at him. Unlike just a moment ago, when he had looked so full of emotion, so.. _human_, he now looked like he always had. He stared at her distrustfully with his usual arrogant stance and a dangerous, defiant look in his eyes. "Unless…" Jenny said looking down, " they wanted to hurt us both by putting us together.. and then ripping us apart." Julian looked startled as though the idea hadn't even occurred to him. He took a step forward, but then as if on cue, Jenny's body began to shimmer and look as if she were disappearing. "No!" Julian shouted, rushing towards her. _No_, Jenny thought as her vision faded to black. Jenny woke up and opened her eyes. Was it just a dream? It felt so _real_. Jenny put her fingers to her lips where she could still feel Julians kisses. Her lips were swollen and raw. _It wasn't just a dream._ Jenny looked at the clock. It was 3:45 in the morning. Jenny lay back down but she couldn't sleep. She was too awake now. Nothing to do now but wait for morning Jenny thought as she looked at the ceiling. As she lay there, she thought of Julian. Will the memory of him dying in my arms still haunt me every night? Will I… will I ever get to be back in his arms?

-Julian-

She was here. Right here. Julian clenched his fist. It wasn't fair! To put her in his arms… just to snatch her away. Julian stood and simply stared at the spot where she had been. Then he felt a presence behind him. He turned and saw another shadow man. He was grotesque. He had.. limbs of a sort… with disfigured hands at the end, his was the color of a pond when stir up all the dirt at the bottom. He smelled of death. Julian crossed his arms and faced the shadow man. "Stephan." he said cooly. "Well I must say that I expected a warmer welcome after allowing you to see your beloved _Jenny_," Stephan said with a sneer. Julian saw red. His eyes glinted with a cold fury and dangerously quiet, he said, " That was you?" "Why yes. I have watched you in pursuit of Jenny all this time.. and I must say, I find it fascinating. What makes her so special? She is just a mortal. No different than any other you have devoured," Stephan replied quizzically. "I couldn't explain to one such as you. Clearly you are too far gone," Julian said, eyeing the shadow man with disgust. "Ah but you see, that's why I'm here. I'm curious about this. I am tired of the usual games with humans. What is this feeling of love you seem to possess that is so intense? What is this ever changing thing you have?" Stephan hissed, eyes glittering in jealousy. "It's not something you could comprehend if you are truly evil and cannot do anything that isn't bad," Julian replied, raising an eyebrow. Stephan hissed in frustration and disappeared.

-Stephan-

Damn it. Julian wasn't helping at all. What is this love he seems to have?! How does one get it? Stephan growled in anger at not understanding an began pacing the room. He wanted to experience this love thing, but he didn't know how. What if he went to earth and lived among humans? Perhaps he could experience it then. But.. Ugh. Humans. Filthy, uncivilized, uneducated, disgusting creatures. Nothing they did made sense. Unlike the other shadow men, he hadn't spent much time around the mortals. They bored him and he had preferred to spend his time elsewhere. But now.. He regretted that decision. He could never understand the humans.. unless.. he had a guide. If he had a guide to stick with him and help him understand the humans, he might be able to experience this love thing. He wanted someone who understood mortals minds. Someone who could also understand him. Someone who would jump at the chance to be on earth. Someone who could be controlled. Someone who could gain him access to a beautiful mortal. Stephan knew just who to go to. Julian.

-Jenny-

It's finnally morning, Jenny thought as she looked at the sun peeking through the curtains. Jenny had been thinking all night, and decided that she needed to share some information with all of her friends. She called Audrey, Dee, Michael, Zach, Summer, and Tom and asked them to meet her at the park. Jenny arrived and sat on the swing and swung back and forth slowly. How was she going to tell them? Would they be mad? Would they understand? Oh God, this was gonna be- "Jenny!" Tom called from the edge of the park with a quizzical expression. He walked over to her and say on the swing next to her. He looked at her and said, "What's going on?" Jenny opened her mouth to respond. "HEY SUNSHINE! What's up?" Dee called, arriving with everyone else. Jenny looked at Tom and shook her head slightly. Lowering her eyes, she bit her lip nervously. Tom tilted his head to the side, concerned. Once everyone was situated and looking at her expectantly, Jenny took a breath and braced herself for what she was about to tell them. "As... As you know, I've dreamed of the moment when Julian disappeared in my arms every night since that day. But last night... I dreamed something a little different. I was in the paper house, and he was there, except it was real. Remember how he said he would go into one of his dreams and that he wouldn't die so long as he wasn't forgotten? Well he did," Jenny took a deep breath before continuing. "I don't know exactly how, but I ended up in that dream. I saw him." Jenny paused and looked at the group, gauging their mostly looked a little confused, unsure where she was going with this. Tom looked at her a little differently though. She could see that he knew where she was going with this. He nodded slightly in understanding, and Jenny gave him a look of gratefulness and relief. "I have to tell you something. Something I have been reluctant to admit even to myself. I… I love him. I fought it as much as I could, but I can't anymore. I can't fight what I feel for him. I don't expect you to understand, or forgive me for loving someone who has caused us so much pain… I just thought that you guys had a right to know." Jenny looked away, it was silent for a moment. "Sunshine, I would never stop loving you no matter who you love. And honestly, he changed from when we first met him. I support you all the way, and I promise that even if you want to bring him back, not only do I support you, but I will help you in any way I can," Dee declared. "Me too!" said Michael. "Me three!" said Summer. Everyone nodded their agreement. Finnally, Tom said, "Count me in. I support you all the way." "Thank you so much!" Jenny cried. "I thought you guys would hate me and that I would be all alone!" "We would never leave you alone," Zach said gently. "Only one question now…. What next?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry that I can't update regularly, I'm in the process of moving so I don't have time to write or regular internet access ^.^**

-Jenny-

Jenny lay in bed staring at the ceiling, unable to sleep. She couldn't stop thinking about what Zach had said. What next? She had no idea. What could she do? If she went to sleep again, would she find Julian? Or would she find something bad? Is there a way she could bring him back? Or... Julian had said another shadow man must have been involved. Would she be taken too? Oh god... Why can't I just have a normal love life like a normal teenager?

-Stephan-

He had decided. Stephan wanted to see the human world. He wasn't going to take no for an answer. He carved an inverted u on a door. Then he whispered "_Uruz_" and opened the door.

He found Julian where he had been last night, staring at the door where Jenny had last come through. "Julian," Stephan said. Julian turned, looking at him with cold eyes. He radiated power and anger. Perfect. "I want to see the human world, and experience it. I want to see all that you have seen, but I don't understand humans well enough to be able to live among them on my own. I need a guide," Stephan said. Julian looked at him incredulously. Then he laughed and said, "What?! And you honestly thought I would help you? I knew you were stupid but..." "I think you might change your mind... For the right price," Stephan said with a smile.

-Julian-

"Jenny," Julian stated. "If you touch her so help me god..." "Oh don't worry. That's all part of the deal you see. I remake you, you guide me on earth. You do well, you can see Jenny. Fail me... Well, let's hope for Jenny's said it doesn't come to that," Stephan replied with a chuckle. This could be his chance, Julian thought. His only chance. But would Stephan keep his word? Julian had no leverage. Stephan offer was his only chance to be with Jenny. "Deal," Julian said softly. Stephan chuckled, and said," Tomorrow morning, I will remake you." With that, he disappeared.

-Jenny-

Jenny finally fell asleep late that night. She woke up inside and empty room. She could tell it was the paper house, but not a room she had been in before. If she was here, then so was Julian. She opened the door and looked around. An unfamiliar hallway. Which way? Jenny started walking left, and eventually came to a room she recognized. It was the room of mirrors. She turned around, but the room had changed. There was no hallway behind her. She heard a wicked chuckle behind her, and turned. It was a shadow man. One who had changed. It smiled grotesquely at her. Jenny shrieked and backed up. She saw a passageway of mirrors to her left and ran. From behind her, she heard a voice. "Can we take you? We can carry you." Oh god no! Not again! "Jenny screamed and turned around wildly as she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked all around, only her reflection in the mirrors. Something touched her other shoulder and she turned. The shadow man was back. He reached out towards her, and she backed into the mirror, screaming.

-Julian-

Oh god. Jenny. He heard her screaming from somewhere upstairs, but he couldn't find her. Every time he went towards where he thought he heard her, she sounded like she was somewhere else. She screamed again. "Jenny!" Julian yelled. "Jenny!" "Julian!" Jenny screamed from somewhere upstairs. "Jenny where are you?" Julian called back. "I'm-" Jenny cut off and started to scream again, the sound getting fainter and fainter. "Jenny! **Jenny!**" Julian called running up the stairs. Suddenly the entire house shook, and Julian fell to his knees. He heard a wicked chuckle. Stephan. "Should you fail me, this will happen. She will suffer, and there will be nothing you can do. **Do not fail me." **Stephan's voice boomed from all around. Julian hissed in anger and fear for Jenny. Was she hurt? Was she still here? Could he find her? "If you think you can hurt her, then Stephan you have another thing coming," Julian muttered angrily as he felt Stephan's presence leave the house.

-Stephan-

Yes, he could see now. Julian would be easy to control. All he had to do was threaten Jenny. He would do anything to keep his light from going out. But why?! What can make someone be willing to give everything up? Come morning he would know. He would understand. Stephan would understand this thing they called love. He would understand it if it killed him. Julian would try something. He knew it. He would want Jenny out of danger. But what would he try? He had become so unpredictable lately. Especially since he started the games with Jenny. He acted weird before that, but since then... He was different. He was completely unpredictable. But Stephan would be ready. Julian would not get the best of him.

-Jenny-

Jenny woke up in a cold sweat with Julian's name on her lips. Was it a dream? Had she imagined it all? It was just a nightmare she told herself firmly. Julian would never have let that shadow man get to you. He could not be overpowered. Could he? Julian didn't have power anymore since he was no more than a memory. But…. maybe she did. Back in the cave, she had performed the rune _Isa_. And when they all tried to go into the shadow world, it had worked. Why not now? Jenny made up her mind. She had to see Julian. She got up and dug around in her purse to find Toms old knife. She picked it up and walked to her closet door. She began to carve the inverted U for _Uruz. _Then she jabbed her finger, and covered the rune. She took a deep breath, and said, "_Uruz". _The rune glowed faintly, and everything faded as she fell into oblivion.

Jenny felt a blast of cold air, and she fell to her knees. What the….? Jenny forced her eyes open and looked around. It was a white wasteland. Cold wind blew snow all around her, and the ground was ice beneath her feet. This isn't where she wanted to be. She wanted to be with Julian. Not here in this frozen place. This is what she saw that day when she looked out the window of the paper house. Which means… the shadow creatures she saw must also be here. She wasn't safe here. _The paper house._ If she could find the house then she would be safe. Julian would be there. Jenny stood up and turned to look around for the house. She turned, and found herself face to face with the distorted shadow man who had trapped her last night in her dream. Jenny opened her mouth to scream, but the shadow man instantly covered her mouth. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," the shadow man hissed in her ear. "You will alert **every **shadow man here to your presence." "Jenny closed her eyes and whimpered in fear. Suddenly, the world faded to black. Jenny opened her eyes to see an unfamiliar place. In half a second, she took in the dark grey walls, the simple black furniture, and the red decorations around the room. The shadow man released his hold on her and backed off. "You will not freeze to death here," he said. "What is this place?" Jenny replied, looking at him cautiously. "I know this isn't the paper house." The shadow man chuckled and said, "No. That it is not. This is… my home, I guess you could say. It is my equivalent of Julian's paper house." This brought Jenny back to the issue of why she had ended up in the wasteland in the first place. "How did I end up here? I wanted to get to the paper house," Jenny asked. "Ah, well. You see, you did in fact get what you wanted. You arrived at the location of the paper house," the shadow man replied. Jenny just looked at him. "Hmm. Right. Well maybe I just missed it among all the freaking snow and ice, but I didn't see a house," Jenny said, annoyed. He chuckled. "When Julian left the house after you trapped him in the closet -nice work by the way that was very well done- the house's roof exploded. The paper house is broken. It no longer exists. That why Julian is able to be there. The house -like him- no longer exists anywhere except in memory. You see Jenny, you performed the rune correctly. You landed exactly where you meant to. There is just no more paper house to be in," he explained. Jenny looked at him a moment and looked away. Well at least she had learned one thing; she could perform the runes correctly. Now she just had to figure out where to go from here. "If the paper house still exists in memory, along with Julian, then why can I go there in a dream but not now?" she asked. "Because it is just that. A dream. Dreams can connect. Dreams and reality cannot," he replied. Oh. So the only way to get to Julian was in her dreams. Alright. Time to go home and sleep then."Who are you?" Jenny finally asked. The shadow man smiled, as though amused that she had thought to ask this. "I am called Stephan. I am one of the oldest shadow men. There is little I have not seen or done. That reminds me… don't you want to know what interest I have in you?" Stephan cocked his head and smiled nastily at her. Jenny looked at him, took a step back, and said, "No. Not really. I'm sure it's something terrible and I'd really rather not know." Stephan frowned. "Pity," he said. "I was going to enjoy telling you. Well then, best have you off to earth." "Wha-" Jenny started, but was cut off as the world tilted and swirled and set her back in her room. "Ugh..." Jenny moaned. Her head was pounding. Too much inter-world travel. Jenny stumbled over to her bed and fell asleep instantly the moment her head hit the pillow.

"Jenny? Jenny! Come on Jenny, wake up." "Uggghhhh," Jenny moaned. She felt like a knife was repeatedly stabbing into her skull. Jenny opened her eyes to see Julian looking concerned above her. "What's wrong?" he asked, worry creasing his eyebrows. "Too...much...shadow...travel!" Jenny gasped in between spasms of pain in her head. "Here" Julian said placing a hand on her forehead. He whispered something Jenny couldn't understand. She felt magic flow through his fingers and into her head, easing the pain. "Better?" he asked. "Yes, thank you," Jenny replied. It was amazing-no trace of pain left! Julian helped her to her feet, knowing she would still be a little weak from all the travel. Julian led her to a tall Victorian couch and sat her down. "How have you been doing shadow travel? Without a shadow mans help, I didn't think it would be possible for you to perform runes on your own. Although you didn't know it, when you and your friends tried to get into the shadow world, I helped so that you could make it. And once you were in the shadow world that was different. How did you do it?" Julian asked, looking at her curiously. Oh. So she couldn't do it on her own. It was Stephan who allowed her magic to work. Well dang it. She thought she had something to work with. "I-. It must have been Stephan, he…. "Jenny trailed off at the look that came over Julian's face. Pure rage. "Did he hurt you?" Julian demanded angrily. "Did he do anything to you?" "I- no. I tried to get into the shadow world, and I ended up where the paper house used to be, but he found me and took me to his home and then he sent me back here. He didn't hurt me... we just talked. He seemed sort of… curious," Jenny told him. Julian still looked pissed. Jenny stroked the side of his face and said, "Hey it's alright, I'm fine. He didn't do anything to me." Julian relaxed and leaned into her hand. Jenny grinned and then tried to hide it. "What?" Julian asked, peering at her curiously. Jenny looked at him shyly. It was really, really attractive when he got jealous and possessive like that. It wasn't overly controlling and yet... It was possessive enough for her to know that she was wanted... That she was desired. It felt kind of nice to know that he cared enough to be jealous at the thought of another guy near her. Jenny smiled and ducked her head. "You know I could just make you tell me," Julian said arrogantly. "Oh could you now?" Jenny asked with a grin and sat back a little. Julian moved forward so that his body was covering hers. "Tell me..." He whispered into her ear, close enough that she could feel his lips brush against her skin. Jenny sucked in a breath. "Uh... No," she said. "I'm not telling you-" Julian began to trail kisses down her neck. "Tell me," he whispered against her skin. "Not telling you... About... Whatever... It was." Jenny said between breaths. Jenny wound her hands around his neck and pulled him closer. "Julian placed his hands on her waist and looked up at her."I can't get you to change your mind but I can get you to forget what you wouldn't change your mind about?" Julian grinned and shook his head at her. Jenny just laughed and pulled him back down.


End file.
